Europe’s Last Chance to Get it Right

As Europe’s leaders gather this week to tackle its economic woes, it is useful to take a step back and remember how and why Europe got here.

Even as Nazi bombs rained down on London in 1940, French economist and war munitions man Jean Monnet was planning for the integration of Germany into a united Europe. This was no flight of fancy or act of forgiveness by the man widely credited as the architect of Europe. It was a pragmatist’s assessment of how to make sure that after this war ended, a similar catastrophe would be unthinkable in Europe ever again.

Monnet’s success – and Europe’s success – has been so great, that we take the peace it created for granted today.